Professor Merlin Crossley
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Honorary Associate
G08 - Biochemistry Building |
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Biographical details
Biographical summary [More...]
Research interests
Biographical summary
Merlin moved to take up the position of Dean of the Faculty of Science at the University of New South Wales at the end of 2009, but remains an Honorary Associate at the University of Sydney.
Merlin Crossley completed his Bachelor of Science degree at the University of Melbourne, majoring in genetics and microbiology, but also receiving academic awards for classical languages. After a year as a tutor in residence at Queen's College, he was awarded a Rhodes Scholarship and carried out his doctorate at Oxford University. He received Magdalen College's Edward Chapman research award for this work. Following a post-doctoral period in Oxford he took a research position at the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Children's Hospital and Dana Farber Cancer Center, Harvard Medical School.
He later returned to the University of Sydney and established a laboratory investigating DNA-binding molecules and gene control. At the end of 2009 he moved to the University of New South Wales to take up the role of Dean of Science.
He has led Australian research teams funded by the US National Institutes of Health, the Australian Research Council (ARC), and National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) Project and Program Grants. His research has been recognized by several awards including the Australian Academy of Science's Gottschalk Medal, the Royal Society of NSW's Edgeworth David Medal, the Australian Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology's Roche Medal, and the Lorne Genome Conference's Julian Wells Medal.
He is a committed undergraduate and post-graduate teacher and has received a Vice-Chancellor's Award for Research Supervision. While maintaining his research and teaching he has made contributions to administration, serving as the Acting Dean of Science throughout 2004, then as the Director of Research in the University's College of Sciences and Technology, and from 2006 to the end of 2008 as the Acting Deputy Vice-Chancellor Research, and now as Dean of Science at UNSW, he has worked to remove obstacles to success in research and to facilitate research led teaching.
CURRICULUM VITAE
Appointments
1990-1 Post-doctoral Researcher, Laboratory of Prof. George Brownlee, FRS, Sir William Dunn School of Pathology, Oxford University
1991-5 Post-doctoral Researcher, Laboratory of Prof. Stuart Orkin, Children?s Hospital, Dana Farber Cancer Center, Harvard University
1995-7 Lecturer, Dept. of Biochemistry, University of Sydney
1998-2002 Senior Lecturer, Dept. of Biochemistry, University of Sydney
2002-4 Associate Professor, School of Molecular and Microbial Biosciences, University of Sydney
2004 Acting Dean of Science, University of Sydney
2005 Professor of Molecular Genetics, School of Molecular and Microbial Biosciences, University of Sydney
2005 Director of Research, College of Sciences and Technology, University of Sydney
2006-2008 Acting Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Research), University of Sydney
2010-present, Dean of Science, University of New South Wales
Research goals
To identify regulatory mechanisms to turn genes on and off
To thereby devise new strategies for the treatment of diseases, such as, sickle cell anaemia and leukaemia
Grants
1996-present Continuous Project Grant support from the National Health and Medical Research Council and the Australian Research Council
2003-6 Lead investigator on a grant from the American National Institutes of Health
2006-10 Lead investigator on a National Health and Medical Research Council Program Grant
Publications
See below for recent publications
Research prizes
1998 Australian Life Sciences Research Award, Beckman Coulter and Lorne Genome Conference
1999 Roche Medal, Australian Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
2000 Sir Edgeworth David Medal, Royal Society of NSW
2002 Eppendorf South Pacific Award for the Young Australian Investigator, Lorne Genome Conference
2002 Gottschalk Medal for research in medical science, Australian Academy of Science
2005 Vice-Chancellor's Award for Excellence in Higher Degree Research Student Supervision
2010 Julian Well's Medal, Lorne Genome Conference
Service to the profession
1997-9 NSW representative for the Australian Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
2000-4 Honorary Secretary of the Australian Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
2001 Convenor and Chair of the Organizing Committee for the Lorne Genome Conference
2002-present International Scientific Committee for the Asian Conference on Transcription
2002-6 Honorary Treasurer and Board Member, Lorne Genome Conference Inc.
2006 Chair of Biochemistry Panel 1a of the National Health and Medical Research Council Project Grant Review Panels
Contributions to scientific and medical education
1995-present Undergraduate teaching in the B.Med.Sci. and B.Sc. degrees
1996 Co-author of Molecular Biology through Questions, McGraw-Hill
1996-present Supervision of 23 Honours students and 17 PhD students (6 currently enrolled)
1996-present Examiner for more than 25 PhD theses
2002-3 Director of the B.Sc. Molecular Biology and Genetics Program
Education and awards
1976-81 Melbourne Grammar
1976 Entrance Scholarship
1977 Dux of Grimwade House (Junior School) and Rusden Scholarship
1981 Dux of School
1982-86 B.Sc. Hons University of Melbourne
1982 Queen's College, Major Scholarship Division I
1983 J.F.W. Payne Exhibition in Biology
1984 Australian Society for Microbiology Scholarship, Dwight Prize for Genetics, John Grice Exhibition in Latin, Wyvern Essay Prize
1985 Australian Society for Microbiology Prize
1986 Douglas Howard Exhibition in Latin, Bryan Scholarship, Major Bartlett Scholarship, Roy and Iris Simmon's Award for Microbiology Honours
1987-1990 Oxford University
1987-1990 Rhodes Scholarship
1987-1990 D.Phil. on the molecular genetics of Haemophilia B, supervised by Prof. George G. Brownlee, FRS, Sir William Dunn School of Pathology
1990 Edward Chapman Research Prize, Magdalen College
Current national competitive grants*
2012
Functional analysis of ZRANB2, an RNA-binding protein that is essential for mammalian development
Mackay J, Crossley M
ARC Discovery Projects ($458,000 over 3 years)
2011
Identifying regulators of the DNA damage response and tumorigenesis using C. elegans
Nicholas H, Crossley M
NHMRC Project Grant ($496,706 over 3 years)
* Grants administered through the University of Sydney